Young adult has always been a popular genre for Hollywood, but the recent cinescape has seen the emergence of young-adult megafranchises. Series such as the Twilight Saga, The Hunger Games, and even some less-successful series like The Mortal Instruments have been ruling our Kindles and movie screens for years. Now, another young-adult adaptation is about to hit, and it has the potential to become the biggest franchise yet. Based on Veronica Roth's trilogy of the same name, Divergent is yet another dystopic tale starring a young female heroine. This may sound familiar for Hunger Games fans, but the comparisons stop there. Here are five reasons why Divergent will be our next obsession.
1. Shailene Woodley
If there is any actress who could dare come close to the mass appeal of Jennifer Lawrence, it's Shailene Woodley. After watching her captivating, nuanced performance as George Clooney's daughter in The Descendants, the public fell even more in love with her as she graced award season red carpets with stunning but age-appropriate gowns, a relaxed and free-spirited attitude (as exhibited when she ditched her heels for toe shoes), and all-around class. At 21, she projects an image that is more mature than many starlets who are older. In short, we won't mind being overloaded with Woodley when she inevitably becomes ubiquitous.
2. The Premise
While The Hunger Games appealed to its young audience with its brutal, fight-to-the-death storyline, Divergent addresses more relatable themes with its coming-of-age premise. In the future, citizens are divided into five factions, depending on their strengths, to uphold a virtue of humanity: Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave) and Erudite (the intelligent). When a child reaches the age of 16, they take an aptitude test to see which faction they are best suited for, and then they must decide whether they want to stay with their family or transfer to another faction. This is a theme that resonates with teenagers and real-life themes — applying to college, figuring out what you're good at, and the anxieties of leaving home for the first time. "Don't try to define me!" Tris (Woodley) exclaims, and that could very well be the slogan for the movie. Tris learns that she is a "divergent," one who fits in more than one faction. We've all been in that position of not knowing what our true identity is and where we belong, only in the world of Divergent, not belonging can cost you your life.
3. Kate Winslet Is the Villain
This is something completely new for Kate Winslet, whose usual roles are normal everyday women who fight for control over their lives. Now she's playing the most powerful woman in the movie, albeit an evil one. Her character, Jeanine Matthews, is the leader of the Erudite faction, and her goal is to find and destroy all divergents. She makes vaguely ominous statements like "The system removes the threat of anyone exercising their independent will" and "The future belongs to those who know where they belong." This new side of Winslet is miles away from Mildred Pierce, and we can't wait to see it unfold on screen.
4. The Action
While the Hunger Games and Twilight series both had their fair share of action, in the form of slow-motion vampire fighting sequences and shooting arrows in the woods, Divergent looks like it will be faster-paced and more intense, with loads of fight sequences, which the actors trained for by taking muay thai lessons. The trailer shows snippets of the action, like Tris in front of a row of punching bags being trained by Four (Theo James) in proper striking form, and the Dauntless members brandishing their shiny new shotguns. It looks like these characters would be able to take out anyone from Twilight or Hunger Games.
5. The Chemistry Between Pris and Four
It's not a young-adult sensation without the love story and resulting sexual tension on screen. And Divergent has that in spades. According to James, "The chemistry is pivotal but also needs to be natural and real, and I think that's something we stumbled upon quite easily. . . . It was just there." Costar Zoe Kravitz seconds James's observation: "They have amazing chemistry on and off camera. They're great friends. They can turn it on like that. It's magic." Pretty soon, young audiences everywhere will be swooning over these two, wishing they were a couple in real life, and giving them silly nicknames like Shaileo.
Divergent comes out March 21, 2014. Until then, you can watch the trailer below.
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What, exactly, can you do with a genre as well worn as the contemporary coming-of-age story? With such a hefty stockpile of high school graduation movies, new entries are bound to entertain apprehension and low expectations. What could The Spectacular Now, the latest feature film about an 18-year-old boy ascending to his existential plateau, offer that no other film of its breed has before?
That's a fair question to ask both before and after watching James Ponsoldt's drama about popular party animal Sutter (Miles Teller) accessing a new side of himself following a breakup with longtime girlfriend Cassidy (Brie Larson). At the dawn of prom and graduation season, Sutter connects with an intellectual introvert named Aimee (Shailene Woodley), clinging desperately to the unconditional kindness with which she emanates. The film's story, derived from the 2008 novel by Tim Tharp, follows Sutter and Aimee as their relationship evolves and invites each party to pioneer emotional experiences. For the shy, unassuming Aimee, this new chapter invites an introduction to confidence. For Sutter, his first tustles with self-reflection... a journey that comes with no dearth of punches to the gut.
Yes, well-worn territory, the both of them: the plight of a teenaged bookworm to find her spark and adventure, the "destiny" of a deluded manchild to anchor down to Earth. It isn't the invention of The Spectacular Now that will grab, keep a hold on, and ultimately engulf you altogether (which it will). It is, contrastingly, the very feeling that you've walked down these roads before.
Both in life and on the big screen, in fact. You'll appreciate a revisitation to the tropes of "last day of school" movies past with naturalism in grand supply and characters far more interesting and lovable — not always likable, but consistently lovable — than those delivered even by most of the genre's entries. Putting even the troops of Dazed and Confused to shame, The Spectacular Now's characters will astound you when they're sitting in their bedrooms, chatting over math textbooks. And you'll appreciate the attack on your trove of personal experiences in the delicate deconstruction of Sutter and Aimee and their complicated internalities. You'll appreciate these things so much because you've seen them done before, both poorly and expertly, and you've felt them happen before, both as positive experiences and heartbreaking ones. You'll appreciate The Spectacular Now in its honesty — these are the things we know, we've seen, we've felt. Here they are, without a particle of mercy or propaganda.
If you were to assign The Spectacular Now a single victory, it would be in its earnestness. Sutter, a character slumped so deeply in his defense mechanisms, is delivered with more humanity than we've seen in any memorable high school flick. And Aimee, so dangerously close to taking form as a vehicle for Sutter's evolution and nothing beyond that, is an insuperable hero for teen movie female leads and for those inflicted with a tragic scarcity of self love. As movie characters, following in the footsteps of the Dazed and Confuseds and others of the type, Sutter and Aimee are a creative triumph. And as people — full-fledged breathing beings tapping into everything any of us might have felt in our own paths toward (but not quite to) adulthood, they are majestic.
No, The Spectacular Now won't shock you in any of its twists or turns. It doesn't have to. The material it is working with, the material we all know so well, is worth our attention. And it is handled better than it ever has been before.
4.5/5
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The Wolverine opened on Friday, and audiences might find it a bit different from how they’ve seen the immortal X-Men hero in the past. For one thing, it truly is a standalone Wolverine film. There are only a couple other mutants in this movie, and their stories revolve around Logan's. Another big difference is the setting. The Wolverine takes place in Japan, and the culture there is almost a character of its own.
Director James Mangold took Wolverine to a place that is new to both the character and to his audience. Mangold made a movie that not only tells a story about Wolverine but also calls back to old Japanese films and tells a story about Japan. One of the main things that attracted him to his movie, he said, was that it was set in the land of the rising sun.
"I've always been a huge fan of Japanese movies, Samurai and otherwise," Mangold said during a press conference for the film. "This movie is kind of a Life Savers role of different tastes of Japanese culture."
The film does have a little bit of everything. You get a crime movie with the Yakuza gang, a Samurai movie with, obviously, samurai, and a historical film with Wolverine and Mariko's journey to a traditional southern Japan seaside village. There’s plenty of modern Japan as well, and the balance between the old culture and the new gives audiences a look into the country's life force.
Much of what we see came not just from Mangold but from the Japanese stars in the film, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tao Okamoto, and Rila Fukushima. They helped Mangold avoid Western cliches of Japanese life and instead portray a more realistic view of Japan.
"I think that is a credit, honestly, to the cast," Mangold said, "who were very vigilant and kind to me and gentle in explaining when I was doing something idiotic. And even on days they weren't working in character, they were coming by set."
But even the Wolverine himself, Hugh Jackman, got things wrong on occasion. During some time off from shooting, as Jackman explained, he went to an onsen, which is a hot spring that takes form in a public bath. The baths are separated by gender, and there are a few different tubs of varying temperatures. When Jackman arrived, he was handed a small towel. After a while, Jackman felt a bit too hot, so he dipped the towel into the cold tub and used it to cool his head.
"I was getting very strange looks from everybody," Jackman said. "We were not in Tokyo. I was the only white person there. They were looking and I thought, 'Maybe this is not cool. Maybe I'm not meant to be [here]'."
At one point, another man in the tub pointed from his head to his crotch. The man didn't speak English, so at first Jackman was confused, but eventually learned what the stranger was trying to convey. "Finally I realized the towel was meant to be covering my privates," Jackman said. "I'd spent about an hour just waltzing around the place."
Despite Jackman's unfortunate (but hilarious) mishap at the onsen, the film itself is a tribute to Japanese life. It takes audiences from the modern bullet trains traveling hundreds of miles an hour to the much slower pace of traditional life by the sea.
Japanese-born Sanada, who is an icon in Japan, thanked Mangold, Jackman, and the rest of the cast and crew for their courtesy to his culture. "There's sometimes a lot of misunderstanding our country," Sanada said, "but they respected our culture and researched a lot. I believe Japanese audiences will be happy if they're watching."
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Kelly Rowland proved her old mantra true: she is, in fact, a survivor. The former Destiny's Child star was literally lost at sea somehwere off the coast of Provincetown, Mass., on Friday. But you can breathe easy, because she has been found and all is well. According to Lt. Ruairi White told the Cape Cod Times that the private boat lost its course when the captain became disoriented while following a commercial whale-watching vessel.
TowBoat U.S. Provincetown, a commercial towboat company, came to the rescue and escorted the private boat safely back to shore. The tow boat company kept everyone abreast of the critical situation on their Facebook page by posting: "Escorting a lost boat with Kelly Roland from Destiny's Child onboard. 33 miles North of Provincetown" [sic]. Judging by their spelling of the singer's name, it's obvious the team consists of zealous Destiny's Child fans.
TowBoat U.S Provincetown then proceeded to follow up at 6:15 AM on Saturday morning, "She didn't get in until around 11pm." Phew! Those Cape Cod waters can be treacherous!
At 10:53 PM that same Saturday, the company announced that the passengers "were great. Just a little shook up." (The company used a strikingly similar phrase to describe the feelings of a distressed bird that was found on one of their vessels only days prior to this incident.) Minutes later, the company posted a photo of the tow boat rescuer and a very grateful-looking Rowland (above).
Now, to celebrate Rowland's return to safety, a little mood music:
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Shailene Woodley has been cut from The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but she doesn't have to worry too much. Rather than simply falling in love with a superhero, she gets to be her own superhero of sorts in the upcoming Divergent.
Divergent is the latest among the slew of young adult adaptations hitting theaters. It's based on the novel of the same name and is set in a future dystopian Chicago where society is divided into five factions: Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), and Erudite (the intelligent). All 16-year-olds take an aptitude test to determine which faction they fit into, but Tris Prior (Woodley) doesn't fit into just one. She is Divergent, and she must never tell anyone. But when she discovers a conspiracy to destroy all members of her species, she must find out what makes being Divergent so dangerous before it's too late.
The film co-stars Theo James, Kate Winslet, Tony Goldwyn, Ray Stevenson, Maggie Q, Mekhi Phifer, Jai Courtney, Miles Teller, Zoë Kravitz, Ansel Elgort, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Ben Lamb, Christian Madsen, and Amy Newbold. It opens on March 21, 2014.
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Sixty-two-year-old Jane Seymour and her fourth husband, director/producer James Keach, 65, are calling it quits after 20-years-together. This was his third marriage.
The actress' rep confirmed the news saying the couple — who have two teen sons together and have been separated for several months — "will continue their relationship as devoted parents to their children, as business associates and partners, and in their joint dedication to preserving and furthering the charitable endeavors that they've worked on throughout their marriage."
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The statement continued: "At this time they are negotiating the terms of their divorce." Something that should be familiar to the two divorcees.
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We here at Hollywood.com are awfully big fans of the 2012 global and generation-spanning novel Beautiful Ruins, to say the least. In fact, we declared the book's writer Jess Walter (The Financial Lives of the Poets) our breakout author of that year and the book itself one of the year's 10 best. So our expectations for a film adaptation of the funny, heartbreaking, and beautifully written piece of literature were awfully big, to say the least.
Mind you, this is a story that's almost too perfect fit for the big screen: from its glorious locations like a picturesque hotel on the Ligurian Sea, to the fact that a large portion of the story is a love letter to old Hollywood love stories, Beautiful Ruins would be a sensory delight, with a (hopefully great) ensemble cast to boot.
So imagine our utter delight when it was announced on Monday that Oscar-nominated actor/writer/director Todd Field would be getting behind the camera for the first time since 2006's devastatingly good Little Children to bring Beautiful Ruins to a theater near you.
Even better, Field will not only direct and produce, but he'll co-write the screenplay with Walter. As far as turning beloved books into full-length features that not only do the text justice, but stand on their own as great pieces of work, Field is two for two. Not only did his take on Little Children pick up on all of intricacies Tom Perrotta's darkly funny, sexy, and oft depressing slice of suburban Americana, but he also made one of the most darkly funny, sexy, and oft depressing movies of that year. Plus, he got Kate Winslet to turn out one of her all-time great performances as a bored housewife.
Five years prior to Little Children, Field made his full-length directorial debut with In the Bedroom (which he also co-wrote), which also did its original text justice (here, from Andre Dubus' short story collection of the same name), as well as being a visually-captivating, shocking, memorable, Oscar-nominated film which got its already-impressive cast to turn out even more impressive performances. (Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek, and Marisa Tomei all earned nods).
While it's more than fair to say that Field knows what he's doing with adapting brilliant books into equally brilliant films, Beautiful Ruins is actually a bit out of the director's realm. Walter's novel, in comparison to Little Children and In the Bedroom is less heavy fare (that's not to say it doesn't pack emotional wallops, because it most certainly does) and it trades cold suburban landscapes for sunny locations in Italy and California.
Still, Field is an expert on picking up on the little things, and getting us in the minds of the characters. Beautiful Ruins may be a grander, more sweeping story than his previous efforts, but what made that book such a hit with readers (including us) was the getting to know all of the characters over the span of years and thousands of miles. Field can tell a big story that can shifts from harrowing drama to razor-sharp comedy, whether its on a seemingly quiet suburban street or the Hollywood hills and from the perspective of the young and old, the hopeful and the hopeless. It's a thing of beauty, really.
[Photo credit: Harper Collins]
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After being in talks for months, Kate Winslet has been confirmed to star in Divergent, Summit Entertainment announced on Thursday.
Based on Veronica Roth's bestselling YA novel, the movie is set in a dystopian future where society divides people into five factions based on personality. Shailene Woodley plays the young protagonist Beatrice "Tris" Prior, who is classified a "divergent," a rare, dangerous classification, and is told she will never fit into any specific group. She leaves her family back in the Abnegation (selfless) faction to join the Dauntless (bravery) faction, and uncovers a conspiracy to destroy all "divergents" and start a war between factions. She must find out why she and others like her are considered so dangerous before it's too late.
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Winslet will portray the villain of the series, the cold, calculating leader of the Erudite (knowledge) faction, Jeanine Matthews. Directed by Neil Burger, Divergent also stars Theo James, Jai Courtney, Maggie Q, Zoe Kravitz, and Ansel Elgort.
James will play Tobias "Four" Eaton, a man with a mysterious past and Tris’s intense, charismatic instructor of the new Dauntless initiates and one of the leaders of the faction. He is her ally and love interest as they try to stop a war together.
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Courtney will play Eric, one of the Dauntless leaders and an enemy of Four. He is described as having many piercings and long, dark, greasy hair, with cold eyes that made him all the more menacing, scabbed-over knuckles, and a wicked smile. He is excessively cruel and makes life for Tris as hard as he possibly can.
Q will play Tori, the owner of a tattoo parlor in Tris’s chosen faction, Dauntless, and is part of the choosing ceremony that divides people into factions. She ends up as Tris’s ally. Kravitz will play Christina, a member of the Dauntless faction and who becomes friends with Tris. Elgort will play Caleb, Tris’s brother who turns his back on his family in the Abnegation faction, like Tris, to become part of the Erudite faction.
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Aaron Eckhart, Ray Stevenson and Miles Teller are also in talks to join the cast.
Divergent hits theaters March 21, 2014.
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[Photo Credit: Andrew Medichini/AP Photo]
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Divergent has finally found its love interest. Golden Boy's Theo James has just been cast to star opposite Shailene Woodley as "Four" in the film adaptation of Veronica Roth's young adult fiction bestseller.
The movie is set in a dystopian future where society divides people into five factions based on personality. Woodley plays the young protagonist Beatrice "Tris" Prior, who is classified a "divergent," a rare, dangerous classification, and is told she will never fit into any specific group. She leaves her family back in the Abnegation (selfless) faction to join the Dauntless (bravery) faction, and uncovers a conspiracy to destroy all "divergents" and start a war between factions. She must find out why she and others like her are considered so dangerous, before it's too late.
A man with a mysterious past, Tobias "Four" Eaton (James) is Tris’s intense yet charismatic instructor of the new Dauntless initiates (those who chose Dauntless and were not born into it) and one of the leaders of the faction. In lazier storytelling, Four's character could have wound up just as romantic fodder for the protaganist, but in Roth's brilliantly-written novel, he has a compelling history with his own shocking secrets that come to light, and he shares the spotlight with Tris. He is more her ally than her love interest as they try to stop a war.
Other YA love interests, perhaps the best-known are Twilight's Edward Cullen and The Hunger Games' Peeta Mellark, spend their entire journey in the books/movies constantly trying to save their love's life. Sure, they may have interesting back stories but their main goal is always saving or protecting their girlfriend. Four has so much more to him than just being Tris's hero and savior. In fact, most of the time he stands back and lets Tris save and defend herself, instilling the brave and fearless values that the Dauntless faction teaches. Tris and Four don't let their relationship take priority over what needs to be done.
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In a joint statement, Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger, Co-Chairmen of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said, "Theo is not only an incredibly talented actor, he is also who we envisioned as Four when reading Veronica’s novel which has taken the world by storm. As we continue to develop the film, the studio remains committed to providing fans with a movie adaptation that stays as true to the book as possible and we are confident that we have done so with our selection of Shailene and Theo in the leading roles."
"We took our time to find the right actor to fill the role of Four, and Theo is definitely the perfect fit," said Erik Feig, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group’s President of Production. "Veronica has crafted a truly iconic character in Four and we cannot wait to begin production and bring him and this story to life for millions of fans around the world."
James joins the film – directed by Neil Burger – along with previously cast Woodley, Jai Courtney, Kate Winslet, Maggie Q, Zoe Kravitz, and Ansel Elgort. Kate Winslet, Aaron Eckhart, Ray Stevenson and Miles Teller are also closing deals to join the cast, Deadline reports.
Divergent hits theaters March 21, 2014.
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[Photo Credit: Scott Gries/Invision/AP Images]
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What's love got to do with it? Hopefully nothing, if you're Season 12's much-maligned contestant, Zoanette Johnson. Because following her painful performance of the Tina Turner hit Tuesday night, Zoanette seems all but poised to become simply a footnote in Season 12's history. (That is, if the tricky Vote for the Worst doesn't catapult her into the Top 10.)
10. Sanjaya Malakar, Season 6Zoanette's Season 6 spirit animal, Sanjaya, became just as reviled for his hairstyles and unfounded arrogance as his off-key renditions of songs he should never have been singing in the first place. (See his performance of No Doubt's "Bathwater" below.) There was no more just elimination than when Sanjaya was given the boot during Top 7 week, but his off-puttingly good performance of "Bésame Mucho" proved he's not quite worth the distinction of being Idol's worst finalist of all time.
9. Carmen Rasmusen, Season 2A precursor to YouTube's hit Usher goat, Carmen bleated her way into Season 2's Top 12, despite getting cut in Hollywood earlier in the season. (She was brought back for drama's sake during the season's wildcard rounds.) And her performance in the finals only proved that Carmen should indeed have walked out the door during Hollywood Week. When Corey Clark is outperforming you, you know no beat can turn your Idol success around.
8. Ashthon Jones, Season 10True, Jones' biggest offense is being forgettable, but, oh, how forgettable was she! Season 10's 13th place finisher might have impressed the judges who picked her as their wild card thanks to her clichéd reality TV attitude, but Ashthon proved to be television Ambien during her performances of "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" and "Love All Over Me." Consider yourself lucky FremantleMedia pulled all her performances off the Web for copyright's sake.
7. Ryan Starr, Season 1It's easier to tear up the Season 1 contestant than it was for her to tear up her own clothes — Ryan's on-stage demeanor was as obnoxious as her last name, and her singing as sharp as her looks. The singer's future as a tired reality star certainly didn't help matters (she appeared in series like The Surreal Life and Battle of the Network Reality Stars), but bonus points should be rewarded for the reported behind-the-scenes brawl with fellow Season 1 maligned singer Nikki McKibbin.
6. John Stevens, Season 3The ginger crooner's audition was a welcome change of pace among Idol's diva-friendly space, but no Sinatra-esque charm will ever forgive that ear-splitting performance of Elton John's "Crocodile Rock" during Top 9 week. (Even more unforgiveable was the fact that Stevens survived the week unscathed.) In fact, Stevens' tenure on the show — during which he mangled songs like "My Girl," "As Time Goes By," and "Music of My Heart" — was so painful, his audition is the only piece of it the Internet was willing to salvage.
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5. EJay Day, Season 1The contestant was dramatically brought back to Season 1 of Idol after Delano Cagnolatti was disqualified for lying about his age, and then fell flat during his first finalist performance. Even more offensive than a waste of TV drama was the fact that Day ever shared the stage with Idol behemoth Kelly Clarkson.
4. Haley Scarnato, Season 6Yes, there was someone worse on Season 6 than Sanjaya. Say what you will about the boy wonder, but at least he proved to be a conversation starter. Scarnato, on the other hand, was just as vocally spotty as her hated Season 6 cohort, with a personality as bland as her pageant song choices. There has been no Idol contestant more worthy of the fast-forward button. Nice legs, though.
3. Camile Velasco, Season 3On Idol, the Hawaiian-born Camile sold herself as Rasta (as evidenced by the red, yellow, and green wristband she wore throughout her tenure on the show), but came off as merely raspy. Not quite the cool chick we had hoped for, Velasco trotted out hackneyed and schmaltzy songs that didn't at all fit her vocal style, like "One Last Cry," "Son of a Preacher Man," and "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" — to some, the worst performance in Idol history. A lethal combination of confusing and boring, viewers were ready to say "Aloha" to the singer after her disastrous Elton cover.
2. Paige Miles, Season 9Because there's nothing more ridiculous than claiming Michael Jackson's death was responsible for your unlistenable performance of Nat King Cole's "Smile." (And nothing more unforgiveable than being the 7th Idol to perform the groan-worthy "Against All Odds.")
1. Tim Urban, Season 9The contestant had the looks... and absolutely nothing else. Dull, unoriginal, and average, Tim was the poster boy for Season 9's sad crop of talent. The fact that we had to endure nine live performances from the six-pack-rocking teenage dream was bad enough (do you remember "Under My Thumb"? No? Good!), but the fact that he outlasted the unceremoniously booted Lilly Scott, Katelyn Epperly, and Alex Lambert was nothing but a nightmare. No one Idol contestant turned the long-running reality series into must-miss television as Tim.
[Image Credit: Michael Becker/Fox]
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